Microwave assisted biodiesel production from <i>Lagenaria vulgaris</i> seed oil using amberlyst 15 ion exchange resin and eggshell as catalysts

Abstract

The study involves the extraction of oil from the seeds of lagenaria vulgaris (Calabash) using soxhlet apparatus. The physicochemical properties of the calabash seeds oil analyzed were; crude oil yield (37.8%), density of oil (0.925g/cm³), acid value of oil (5.6mgKOH/g) and saponification value (190.1mgKOH/g).Catalytic transesterification was carried out using the oil produced in a microwave to yield biodiesel. A comparative analysis of the biodiesel produced from the extracted oil using two different catalysts; Amberlyst 15 ion exchange resin and calcium oxide (waste eggshell) was carried out. The biodiesel production was conducted under different catalyst concentrations, different temperature range and different time (minutes). The best yield of 95.07% was achieved with treated waste eggshell at 60⁰C, 5% catalyst to oil ratio and 40% methanol to oil volume ratio after 40 minutes. Biodiesel characterization showed; specific gravity (0.890g/cm³), acid value (0.7mgKOH/g), API gravity (27.5g/cm³), kinematic viscosity (5.6mm²/s), cloud point (3.5⁰C), pour point (-3⁰C), copper strip corrosion test (1b), flash point (138⁰C), cetane/diesel index (35.1). The result shows that the biodiesel quality parameters were within the acceptable limits set by ASTM, although blends and additives maybe needed to improve performance.

Keywords: Biodiesel, Transesterification, Amberlyst 15, Eggshell